Kinsler "I hope they go 0-162"

[Xx srs bsns xX]

Ian Kinsler of Detroit Tigers hopes Texas Rangers, sleazeball GM Jon Daniels go 0-162 - ESPN Dallas

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Former Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler clearly won't be pulling for his old club now that he's with the Detroit Tigers.

"I hope they go 0-162," Kinsler told ESPN The Magazine's Robert Sanchez last month, in a story published this week. "I got friends, and I love my friends, but I hope they lose their [expletive]."

The comment surprised some Rangers players with many declining comment, including manager Ron Washington. But a few players did speak up.

"I don't think he's going to get what he wants," pitcher Tanner Scheppers said. "I have all the respect in the world for Ian. He's taught me a lot, but he's now with the Detroit Tigers. I wish him luck and I wish luck for everybody.

"I think we'll do our talking on the field. We'll see what happens between the lines."

Kinsler vents about his frustrations with the Rangers in the story, citing several issues with the club and general manager Jon Daniels. His disdain for Daniels is evident as he calls him a "sleazeball" and blames Daniels' ego for pushing Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan out the door.

"It's not worth defending," Daniels said. "I'm really proud of the group we've got here, the decisions we've made, the people we have in place and what we're building. Based on how he feels, the trade is probably a good thing for all parties involved. It's a fresh start for him and a fresh start for Prince and us and Detroit, so we'll move on.

"Name calling and stuff like that, what are you going to do about that? Just take it in stride and move on."

Kinsler said in the story that he was asked to bear too much of a leadership role with the team after Michael Young left and didn't like being asked to move to first base in 2013 to make room for middle-infield prospect Jurickson Profar (something the club didn't do after Kinsler voiced his reluctance). He also didn't like how he was informed of the trade, something that Daniels wasn't happy about either.

Daniels said he was on an airplane to Tucson when the trade was leaked and that he left Kinsler a voicemail after he landed. Daniels also emailed assistant GM Thad Levine while on the plane asking him to try to reach Kinsler and his agent since the news broke and Daniels couldn't use his phone in the air.

Daniels said he didn't have a problem with Kinsler's 0-162 comment, chalking that up to the second baseman's competitive drive. Pitcher Matt Harrison, one of the players that Kinsler says in the story that he'll miss, agrees.

"He's on a different team now. He's on a team we're trying to beat," Harrison said. "I don't want them beating us and going to the playoffs and I'm sure he was trying to say the same thing.

"No matter how good a friend you are, once you step in between the lines, all that goes away. I'm trying to get you out, no matter who you are. He's going to try to hit home runs off us just as much as anybody would. If you step on the mound, you're going to try to get your mom out. It doesn't matter who's in there."

Why cant you just leave on good terms.... -_-

 

[TDs3nOut]

Reads as if Kinsler doesn't understand the concept of a "division of labor", namely, that players are paid (and paid pretty well in his case) to play and management is paid to manage. In any event, Scheppers clearly got it right in remarking that Kinsler isn't going to get what he wants.

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

The article its referring to... -_-

Ian Kinsler intends to become elite second baseman for Detroit Tigers - ESPN The Magazine - ESPN

 

[romeo212000]

Lost all kinds of respect for Ian. He would've gotten a standing ovation from me in his return to the ball park.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Lost all kinds of respect for Ian. He would've gotten a standing ovation from me in his return to the ball park.

Was kind of thinking the same exact thing. I still think he gets a standing ovation because there's a pretty good amount of fans that are not JD fans and did not want to see the core of the Rangers leave and break up. That said, he probably should have kept his feelings to himself but he's entitled to his opinion and I'd rather someone be honest and speak his mind rather than completely lying and doing typical athletes speak.

 

[RoboticDreams]

Jon Daniels is a sleazeball but most GM's are. I have no problem with what Ian said. Ian came out to my place of employment, signed autographs and took pictures with our employees. I brought my daughter out and he took pictures with me and her and even helped me coax her into looking at the camera. He was very kind and generous to everyone there.

He's a competitor and also feels a little scorned by Daniels. I also think the Nolan situation was handled poorly.

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Jon Daniels is a sleazeball but most GM's are. I have no problem with what Ian said. Ian came out to my place of employment, signed autographs and took pictures with our employees. I brought my daughter out and he took pictures with me and her and even helped me coax her into looking at the camera. He was very kind and generous to everyone there.

He's a competitor and also feels a little scorned by Daniels. I also think the Nolan situation was handled poorly.

Teams want to have sleazeballs as GM because that's what it takes. I don't think anybody is saying he isn't a nice guy and no doubt he feels scorned by what happened and has happened the last few years. But from a PR perspective he probably could have had the same message in what he was trying to say but said it in a totally different way. But Ian is gone now and I wish him the best of luck. I think Texas got a hell of a player in return.

 

[fordman84]

Teams want to have sleazeballs as GM because that's what it takes. I don't think anybody is saying he isn't a nice guy and no doubt he feels scorned by what happened and has happened the last few years. But from a PR perspective he probably could have had the same message in what he was trying to say but said it in a totally different way. But Ian is gone now and I wish him the best of luck. I think Texas got a hell of a player in return.

Agree. Ian wouldn't think JD a "sleazeball" if JD would just let Mike and Ian play where they want and cash their checks, or if he would Nolan do what he wants, when he wants. Instead, JD's, whose job it is to make the tough decisions, did his job and that causes issues with some people like Ian. Ian sure didn't have a problem with JD when he was agreeing to that new contract a couple of years ago now did he? If he REALLY had an issue with JD, shouldn't he have turned the money down on principle? Oh, that's right...it was a business then and once he got paid he wanted everyone to be his friend.

Sorry Ian, it's a business and not a group of friends out there. When you are no longer an asset, you are moved. If you want friends that will do everything you want, buy em with all those millions you are getting paid.

 

[The Commish]

May explain a lot...

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

May explain a lot...

[MEDIA=twitter]440870486830874624[/MEDIA]

Saw that too... chuckled alot.

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

 

[RoboticDreams]

Just heard this on the Ticket and laughed. Anybody think Ian gets a little chin music the first time he faces the Rangers?

 

[romeo212000]

Oh my God, I just agreed with Evan Grant.

 

[romeo212000]

Just heard this on the Ticket and laughed. Anybody think Ian gets a little chin music the first time he faces the Rangers?

Not unless he goes to hot dogging our running his mouth.

 

[RoboticDreams]

Not unless he goes to hot dogging our running his mouth.

I don't think that will happen. He feels that Daniels showed lack of any appreciation for wha Ian had done for the team, the way that he handled the deal. Real or otherwise that's his perception. I think he still respects his teammates and wouldn't treat them the way he would Daniels.

 

[fordman84]

Within a week, probably by this afternoon, Ian will have "clarified" his position on this. Someone for the Tigers PR department is in his ear right now about all of this.

I doubt anyone on the Rangers really cares about this, not enough to empower him by throwing high and tight. Ian has been plunked plenty of times, one more isn't going to affect him. It will fire him and his teammates up though.

The best thing would be to try to get Darvish out there for Ian's first time back in Texas...and then have Darvish just make him look like a freakin fool standing there. Strike him out, send him back to the dugout...that's how you get back at Ian if you are bothered by these comments. You don't want him on base and fired up. Not with our catchers

 

[ESPN Refugee]

Within a week, probably by this afternoon, Ian will have "clarified" his position on this. Someone for the Tigers PR department is in his ear right now about all of this.

I doubt anyone on the Rangers really cares about this, not enough to empower him by throwing high and tight. Ian has been plunked plenty of times, one more isn't going to affect him. It will fire him and his teammates up though.

The best thing would be to try to get Darvish out there for Ian's first time back in Texas...and then have Darvish just make him look like a freakin fool standing there. Strike him out, send him back to the dugout...that's how you get back at Ian if you are bothered by these comments. You don't want him on base and fired up. Not with our catchers

I hope he doesn't clarify his comments. I may completely disagree with Ian's comments and assessments but I'd rather see him speak his mind and be honest of what he personally feels.

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

I laughed...


Also, he's already "clarified".

 

[WilltheThrill]

First of all, Kinsler comes off as a whiny brat here. He should have just kept his mouth shut and taken the high road, or at the very least focused all of his comments toward JD and not the team itself. Complaining about having to shoulder too much of a leadership role makes him look very weak. I've met Ian once and he couldn't have been friendlier. But, we've always known that he has rocks for brains, so this doesn't really come a that big of a surprise to me.

However, I will say that his comments about JD being a sleazeball have merit. You can dismiss arrogant douches like Josh and CJ when they bad mouth JD. But when nice guys like Nolan, MY, Moore, and Kinsler all say the same thing too, it starts to really paint an accurate picture of what type of person JD is. You need your GM to be very cutthroat and make the tough decisions necessary for your team to succeed. But you also want a GM who is upfront and honest with his own employees and treat them with respect. That, by all accounts, is where JD fails. There is a ton of backstabbing and double-talk that comes from his office. JD said in the media he was regretful for how he handled the whole MY fiasco. Now he's regretful for how Kinsler found out about the trade. You start to really see how his employees and former employees have felt blindsided and betrayed by him.

A good GM is able to trade away a longtime popular player if it benefits the team. But a great GM calls that player into his office first, sits him down, and tells him face to face and thanks him for his time there.

 

[DT LUNA]

First of all, Kinsler comes off as a whiny brat here. He should have just kept his mouth shut and taken the high road, or at the very least focused all of his comments toward JD and not the team itself. Complaining about having to shoulder too much of a leadership role makes him look very weak. I've met Ian once and he couldn't have been friendlier. But, we've always known that he has rocks for brains, so this doesn't really come a that big of a surprise to me.

However, I will say that his comments about JD being a sleazeball have merit. You can dismiss arrogant douches like Josh and CJ when they bad mouth JD. But when nice guys like Nolan, MY, Moore, and Kinsler all say the same thing too, it starts to really paint an accurate picture of what type of person JD is. You need your GM to be very cutthroat and make the tough decisions necessary for your team to succeed. But you also want a GM who is upfront and honest with his own employees and treat them with respect. That, by all accounts, is where JD fails. There is a ton of backstabbing and double-talk that comes from his office. JD said in the media he was regretful for how he handled the whole MY fiasco. Now he's regretful for how Kinsler found out about the trade. You start to really see how his employees and former employees have felt blindsided and betrayed by him.

A good GM is able to trade away a longtime popular player if it benefits the team. But a great GM calls that player into his office first, sits him down, and tells him face to face and thanks him for his time there.

Will, your last paragraph says it all.